Almost every college application will ask you to pick a major, which is great if you already have a strong idea of what you want to do for a career. If you don’t have a clue, don’t worry about it. College is a time to explore new things and learn about life and part of that is discovering where your interests lie. To help you do so, many colleges allow you to enroll as undecided or undeclared, enabling you to follow a broad path of coursework until you find your major. By that time, many of your classmates who declared a major right away may have changed their minds and switched so take your time and decide what is right for you.

Choosing a major will allow you to begin coursework in that area and find out if this is truly the field you want to spend your career in. Be aware that choosing a major is not necessarily the same as selecting a career. Within each major there are many career paths you could follow and it’s up to you to determine which matches your skills and interests. Some majors like Business are general and leave the door open to many careers in the business world. Majors in the Liberal Arts (History, English) often exhibit strong writing skills and are viewed as creative problem solvers in an organization. And not all education majors become teachers–many go into training or sales.

You don’t need to limit yourself to one major if you have several interests. If your dream is to work abroad, consider double majoring in International Business and a foreign language. Another option is to select a minor, which is a smart way to combine your interests with your career choices. If politics are in your future, major in Political Science and minor in English to enhance your speechwriting skills. If your plan is to become a doctor or lawyer, seek a college that offers Pre-Professional majors to set you up for graduate school and beyond.

There are hundreds of options out there so do yourself a favor and look around, read and ask questions. Go here if you’d like to learn more about specific majors or registering as an undeclared major .